Dh2bn set aside for housing for Emiratis

The Zayed Housing Programme is due to announce the names of 3,000 UAE citizens who are eligible for grants and loans.

The Zayed Housing Programme has announced a fund of more than Dh2 billion to help 8,000 Emiratis and their families.

The programme will announce in the next few days the names of 3,000 UAE citizens who are eligible for grants and loans, and 5,000 who are eligible for financial help to complete building work on their private homes.

Dr Abdullah Al Nuaimi, the head of the programme and Minister of Public Works, told Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister paper of The National, that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, had visited the programme's headquarters and ordered housing aid for citizens worth more than Dh2bn.

In line with Sheikh Mohammed's directives, about 5,000 housing applications will be reviewed and processed by the end of this year.

Mr Al Nuaimi said that during the visit, Sheikh Mohammed approved Dh1.7bn in housing grants for citizens with limited incomes, and Dh390 million in loans for citizens. He also approved plans to build homes for 700 Emirati families.

Dr Al Nuaimi said that after Sheikh Mohammed's visit, the programme will be reshuffling its operating strategy so it can respond more efficiently to citizens' requests and announce more than 3,000 beneficiaries a year.

There are 28,000 applications for housing aid on the programme's waiting list.